Head animal handler Mike Kohlrieser of Wapakoneta, Ohio, engaged a large audience by bringing out one exotic animal after another during his show, “Live on Stage, The Rain Forest,” at Pontiac Junior High School Thursday. The purpose of the show was to give the community a personal glimpse at the animal life found in the rain forests and why help is needed if these endangered species are to survive.

“I wasn’t expecting the show to offer as much as it has. The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves and learning a ton,” said parent Carmen Rodriguez as she and her three children waited in line to get a chance to have their picture taken with a large snake during the show’s intermission. “I have actually learned a lot myself. A few of the things he was talking about were completely new to me.”

While many parents stood near the entrances or sat in the bleachers at PJHS, a large majority of the children sat, or at least attempted to sit, and watched intently as Kohlreiser presented a new animal. With each new creature, the kids would squeal and with each of Kohlrieser’s jokes or fun facts, he left the young audience hanging on his every word and jumping out of their seats to be called for a demonstration.

“My three kids have never seen anything like it,” said Rodriguez. “When he was talking about the birds being gentle, I had no clue. My children haven’t gotten to experience anything like that around here, so for them to actually have a close encounter and understand that the animals are not always dangerous is great.”

The show itself began in the 80s after Kohlrieser and his wife got involved with groups like the Word Wild Life Foundation. As the couple learned more about the problems these animals were facing in the rain forests across the world, they felt obligated to do something to make a difference. At each show, Kohlrieser says he brings out generally the same cast of animals. This show included animals such as macaws, American alligators, an African serval, a capuchin monkey and kinkajous just to name a few. The trainer said some animals get switched depending on the shows in order to give the individual creatures rest.

“What’s really amazing,” said Rodriguez, “ Is that I can’t get my kids to pay attention for five seconds and he can keep their attention the whole time.”

The animal trainer said the key to keeping the attention of a large group of students is to offer something fun that causes them to take notice and get focused.

“We have some really cool animals that do silly things,” said Kohlrieser. “So we keep the kids’ attention and while they have this emotional connection to what is on stage, they realize what could be lost if they don’t take care of things. As a society, we often tell kids to recycle, but we don’t always show them why. Until they see exactly what it is we stand to lose, they don’t know that it’s important to take care of things.”

Page 2 of 2 - After this show Kohlrieser and his team will return to Ohio, but just because they are at home, does not mean they are not busy. In fact, he went on to say that the team is actually busier off tour than they are on the road.

“Usually when we’re not working, we are getting ready for our summer schedule and training animals,” said Kohlrieser. Thursday’s show was rescheduled from its original April 19 date.

What the speaker said he enjoyed most about Pontiac was the art around town and the audience he met after the show and during intermission.

“When I got here with the crew I was telling them how cool I thought it was that Pontiac had all this art hanging around,” said Kohlrieser. “The town is painted up, there are some historical things — it really is an impressive community.”